Trent Summar, Two Tons of Steel

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, the sophomore effort from Trent Summar, is a rough-hewn, shit-kicker's delight, an effort that mocks the sterile country confines of Nashville and revels in the Hill Country Americana spirit embodied in the likes of Doug Sahm and Jerry Jeff Walker. Sounding like Paul Westerberg fronting the...

By Darryl Smyers

January 18, 2007

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Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, the sophomore effort from Trent Summar, is a rough-hewn, shit-kicker's delight, an effort that mocks the sterile country confines of Nashville and revels in the Hill Country Americana spirit embodied in the likes of Doug Sahm and Jerry Jeff Walker. Sounding like Paul Westerberg fronting the Supersuckers, songs such as "Really Never Loved Her Anyway" and "Guys Like Me" reveal Summar as a keen observer of the darker side of rural romance. San Antonio's Two Tons of Steel are decidedly more retro, gracefully melding rockabilly and honky-tonk into a thoughtful and witty concoction that finds equal merit in Roy Orbison and the Ramones. Until you've heard Two Ton's two-step dissection of "I Wanna Be Sedated," you just haven't found true hayseed heaven. Rarely does a double bill this genuinely rustic and artistically potent make its way to lower Greenville.

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